Dashing Swordsman

The Dashing Swordsman is a Prestige Class that allows one to harness their natural charm to, in the words of Julio Scoundrél, "turn you into a real bonafide wisecracking, swashbuckling, damsel-saving action hero". It allows the character to substitute their Charisma bonus for their Strength bonus to damage when they wield a rapier, so long as they make a witty pun or catchphrase when attacking. Dashing Swordsmen are also immune to damage from shattered glass, so as to make dramatic entrances easier.

The class was discovered by Julio Scoundrél in an old third party sourcebook he found gathering dust in a discount bin, and he shared its knowledge with his protégé, Elan.

The Dashing Swordsman class does not come from any official D&D sourcebook, but was made up by Rich Burlew specifically for the comic. However, some fans have since made their renditions of it as a homebrew prestige class.

Contents

There is more to combat than brute strength. For some, their sharpest blade is their tongue. These Dashing Swordsmen are renowned for their quick swordplay and quicker wits. For the most part, these swordsmen are unable to rest in any one place–instead, they roam the world in search of adventure and glory.

All the following are class features of the Dashing Swordsman prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

You gain proficiency with the rapier, sap, short sword, and whip. You gain proficiency with all light armor.

Bonus Feat (Ex)

At 1st level, you gain Combat Expertise as a bonus feat, even if you don't already meet the prerequisites for it. If you already have that feat, you may instead gain any feat which has Combat Expertise for a prerequisite as a bonus feat.

Dashing Strike (Ex)

You gain the ability to strike your foe with your sheer force of personality. Whenever you hit a foe with a weapon to which you can apply the Weapon Finesse feat, you may make a witty pun or spout a catch-phrase. You must be able to speak in order to do so, and your foe needs to be able to hear and understand you. If you do, then you add your Charisma modifier, in addition to your Strength or Dexterity modifier, to the attack roll.

Quip (Ex or Su)

At 2nd level, and each subsequent even level, you learn a quip. Whenever you use your dashing strike ability, you may choose to use a single one of your quips along with it. You may use each quip three times per encounter, twice if it requires you to be a 4th Level Dashing Swordsman, or once if it requires you to be a 6th Level Dashing Swordsman. You may use each quip a total number of times per day equal to your Cha modifier. Some quips have minimum class level requirements you must meet before you can learn them. The quips you may learn are as follows:

“Cat Got Your Tongue?” (Su)

When you use the “cat got your tongue?” quip, the enemy you strike must make a Will save, DC 10 + your class level + your Cha modifier, or be silenced, as the spell, with caster level equal to your class level. The silence affects only the enemy you strike–it does not emanate from him. The effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to your class level. You must be at least a 4th level Dashing Swordsman in order to learn this quip.

“Don’t Let Your Guard Down!” (Ex)

When you use the “don’t let your guard down!” quip, you attack ignores any damage reduction the enemy struck might have. You must be at least a 4th level Dashing Swordsman in order to learn this quip.

“Gotcha!” (Ex)

When you use the “gotcha!” quip, you deal an additional amount of damage equal to half the number of ranks you have in Perform (Comedy).

“I’ll Be Gentle!” (Ex)

When you use the “I’ll be gentle!” quip, you attack deals only subdual damage. However, you deal an additional 1d8 points of damage.

”Just Quit!” (Ex)

When you use the “just quit!” quip, the enemy you strike must make a Will save, DC 10 + your class level + your Charisma modifier, or take a -3 penalty on all attack rolls it makes against you. This penalty increases by one for every two class levels beyond 6th you have. This lasts for a number of rounds equal to half your class level. You must be at least a 6th level Dashing Swordsman in order to learn this quip.

“Looks Like That Hurt!” (Ex)

When you use the “looks like that hurt!” quip, the enemy you strike must make a Fortitude save, DC 10 + your class level + your Charisma modifier, or be stunned for 1 round. You must be at least a 6th level Dashing Swordsman in order to learn this quip.

“Ooh, Burn!” (Su)

When you use the “ooh, burn!” quip, your attack deals an additional 1d6 points of fire damage.

“Watch Your Feet!” (Ex)

When you use the “watch your feet!” quip, the enemy you strike must make a Reflex save, DC 10 + your character level + your Charisma modifier, or fall prone.

“You Fail!” (Su)

When you use the “you fail!” quip, the enemy you strike must make a Will save, DC 10 + your class level + your Charisma modifier, or take 1d6 points of Charisma damage. Even if he successfully saves, he still takes 1 point of Charisma damage. You must be at least a 6th level Dashing Swordsman in order to learn this quip.

"You'll Feel That One!" (Ex)

You may only use the "you'll feel that one!" quip when you successfully score a critical hit. You gain a luck bonus on the roll to confirm the critical hit equal to your Charisma modifier.

Extra Critical Damage (Ex)

At 2nd level, the Dashing Swordsman learns it's easier to be heroic when you're not just scoring lucky hits, but when you're dealing more damage on those hits. The Dashing Swordsman deals an extra +1d6 damage on a critical hit at 2nd level, and every three levels there after (+2d6 at 5th level, and +3d6 at 8th level).

Dramatic Entrance (Ex)

At 3rd level, you leap into action just in the nick of time, catching the perfect moment for maximum dramatic effect. Whenever you make a particularly striking entrance, as determined by the DM, you gain a number of benefits. You do not take any damage from hazards of the entrance, such as breaking through windows or leaping through flames. Any enemies that see you make the entrance must make a Will save, with a DC equal to 10 + your class level + your Charisma modifier, or be dazzled for 1 round.

Greater Dashing Strike (Ex)

At 3rd level, whenever you attack a foe with a weapon to which you can apply the Weapon Finesse feat, you may make a witty pun or spout a catch-phrase. If you do, then you add your Cha modifier, in addition to your Strength modifier, to the damage roll.

Dashing Parry (Su)

At 5th level, you can dodge unavoidable blows through sheer force of will and luck. At the start of your turn as a move action, you roll a d20 + BAB + Charisma Modifier + Weapon Enhancement bonus. This becomes your AC until the begining of your next turn. While executing a Dashing Parry, you can move up to your normal movement speed. Bonuses to AC from feats such as Two-Weapon Defense still apply, assuming it is applicable.

Surprising Entrance (Ex)

At 8th level, you can catch your foes off guard if you make a dramatic entrance. If you make a dramatic entrance immediately before the start of combat, you receive a +5 morale bonus to your Initiative check and may act during the surprise round, if there is one, even if you normally could not.

Rapier Wit (Ex)

At 9th level, the critical threat range of any melee weapon to that you can apply the Weapon Finesse feat to is doubled when you wield it. If the weapon's critical threat range is already affected by Improved Critical, or any other effect such as the keen edge spell, this feature increases the threat range by two.

Better Lucky Than Skilled (Su)

At 10th level, Fate bestows her favors upon you. Once per day, at the beginning of an encounter, you may choose to draw upon supernatural luck. For the duration of the encounter, whenever you make an attack roll, skill check, ability check, or saving throw, you may roll two dice, and choose which die roll to use. However, after using this ability, you become drained. You are exhausted, and cannot use any of the spell-like or supernatural class features of the Dashing Swordsman class until you have had eight hours of rest.